Publications and Media Books

Reviewed by Brian Smith for Reader Views (9/06)

Have you ever tried something for the very first time and instantly fallen in love with it? I did, recently: I discovered the joy of books in CD-form. I'm not sure why the idea of listening to a book while driving had never appealed to me before. After all, for an obsessive multi-tasker like me, it's the ultimate two-four. (I'm not talking about a 24 of beer here; I'm talking about doing something that gets you two things for the price of one.) I talk for a living so listening to others do the talking while I'm driving is fun, and it gives me the opportunity to compare my style to theirs.


Lou Russell's CD, "Managing Stress on the Project Team," is a must-hear for project managers, team leaders and members on a project team. We all know that stress is a fact of life. We all know that people deal with stress differently. We all know that we can minimize the negative effect stress can have on our lives by exercising and dieting properly. Russell puts a nifty spin on stress. She talks about ways that companies, and project managers in particular, create stress. (There is some reverse psychology at work here.) What are the stressors that are contributing to stress in your company? What are you doing as a project manager or team member to create stress for other people on your team?

Russell understands that some stress in our lives can be beneficial. Without stress, we wouldn't be motivated to try something different. Russell contends that most companies are "vision-free" and are stuck in survivor mode, which tends to create stress. After all, how motivated are you going to be to go to work every morning saying to yourself, "what do I need to do today to survive?" Stress forces us to innovate and create - which helps energize us, and which translates into feeling less stressed because we're feeling good about ourselves (and feeling good about ourselves and having a sense of accomplishment is a great de-stressor).

Listening to Lou Russell on CD made me feel like I was part of the audience. I found it both entertaining and informative. The bonus for me was getting her take on how the different behavioural styles deal with stress. I am a behaviouralist by training and use DISC ®- based educational materials in all of my behavioural-focused learning programs and customized workshops. So I could relate to what Russell was saying when she talked about Dominant, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientious behavioural styles, and how these styles act and interact with people and react to stress differently.

The only downside to the CD was that it didn't include a booklet outlining the key points that Russell talks about during her presentation. I had to listen to the CD three or four times and take notes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, although you can't very well take notes while driving so it's helpful to have a written record of the points being made, for easy reference later.

If you haven't yet tried listening to a book, this is a great CD to start with. I promise it's the perfect 2-4 for today's fast-paced, ever-changing, helter-skelter world we work in.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (3/07)

Managing a software development project can be extremely complex. Therefore, the planning stage of the project is critical. This involves taking a look at the project requirements and determining and clearly defining what the end deliverables look like. If the project is large, this may also involve breaking it into smaller subprojects or phases. John Rakos, in "Managing Successful Software Development Projects," covers some of the main components of project management and tips for being successful in these areas.

The audio lecture touches on tips around staffing, estimating, project plans, and determining resource commitments. It also covers project structure, documentation, and the importance of work breakdown structures for accurate planning and estimation.

John Rakos teaches MBA level courses in project management and has published two books on the subject. Rakos came to the presentation armed with a mass of information and, realizing it impossible to cover everything in 45 minutes, he allowed the lecture to flow according to questions and audience feedback. He also provided participants with a number of detailed handouts to which he referenced throughout the presentation. Therefore, the audio version did not provide as effective a presentation as the live version most likely would have. However, for the commitment required, the audio lecture still provides some helpful tips and reminders - and when it comes to managing a project every little bit helps!

This was assigned reading for my graduate level course in health communications. Admittedly it was a little hard to get into (not sure if it was because I had to read it or if it was a bit thick). I'm glad a got past the beginning introductory and descriptive stuff because the rest of the book was great! It offers a different perspective on health communications and really stimulated my thinking about how to use the media and how the media is used. I found the examples Wallack, et al., used were the most educational in understanding media advocacy and public health.

Professor Picard is well known in the media management arena. He has published extensively and presented at numerous conferences. This book does a good job of providing the basics of how media systems operate economically. It is well documented, easy to read, and full of charts and graphs that illustrate what is being described.

Terms are defined clearly throughout the book also. Contextually, this is a prerequisite to understanding media's influence on its audience as he explains in the first chapter. In terms of media literacy, many consumers would benefit by learning more about media production and distribution. This book helps them do so. Media are part of the economic system in which they're based.

[This] book illustrates the importance of media literacy and it explores the many levels of the media. I like this book mainly for its organization. Potter's thoughts are well thought out and are presented very clearly. The only problem is that he has so many thoughts that I often forget much of what I've read. As a result, I've had to read paragraphs over and over again in order to fully absorb all that I can from the book.

[By] what he teaches in the book, I have been able to see that some of the claims he makes are very weak. Either he contradicts himself or he offers little evidence for some profound ideas. Without even knowing it, the book itself has become part of the experiment in analyzing and reaching better understanding of the media.

This text offers a comprehensive overview for students of the media or anyone interested in learning about media theory. I'm a masters student (in media) at the London School of Economics and have just read the book to prepare for my exams. Some of the reading is rather dense, but it is rewarding if you take the time. The essayists in the book are leading scholars in media studies. The essays on globalization,cultural imperialism, the public sphere and the Internet are particularly interesting.

"O' to be rid of the albatross of incessant and unproductive meetings!", is the mantra of people throughout the business world. Sometimes there are even meetings in an attempt to determine why there are so many meetings. Everyone is convinced that an enormous amount of potentially productive time is wasted in this way, yet there never seems to be a great deal of action to prevent it.
In this short book Shessel puts forward a simple, effective strategy to reduce the waste of unproductive and unnecessary meetings. Her plan is based on the acronym P.O.I.N.T., which is

P - purpose
O - organization
I - involvement
N - navigation
T - tasks

Her advice is simple and if followed, would be effective. The problem here is of course wrapped around the phrase "if followed." There is a great deal of inertia loaded up into the perceived requirement for meetings that is hard to overcome. However, if you muster the courage to try, reading this book will provide the blueprint for success.

More than meets the eye by Greame Burton was recommened to me by one of my teachers at college. It has been a very useful aid to my studies over the last 2 years. It contains simplified information on vital areas of the course such as, juxstapostion, general sound, editing and lighting features aswell as more complex information on these areas. It is a well explained book and easy to use. Though i have not mentioned all the topics covered in the text the reason for this being that this review would be over 5,000 words! It is easlit in my opinion the best book for a-level media students and is a must buy!

This book sets out some good ideas for helping to consider the ways that we 'mean' things beyond just what type into the Amazon review text box. The authors would say that my use of a keyboard affects the meaning, as does your use of a computer monitor to read the review. Their expansive definition of "modes" is very helpful; however, the trend of their writing is to lock the meanings of their terms down as tightly---read 'as scientifically'---as possible. It's a mild hypocrisy, I guess. But this text has a pretty prominent place for now, so you have to just deal with it (as well as the sometimes hyperintellectual jargon and syntax).

Cottle's edited text gave an outstanding overview of the public relations (PR) fields. His co-authors wrote compartmentalized chapters on specific areas of expertise, and it makes understanding the field much clearer. Cottle's chapters are the most difficult to understand, for he uses career-specific words and concepts and lofty expressions. However, the other seven chapters are very down-to-earth. I am using it as a text for a public relations master's level course, and it is almost perfect. It is written entirely by British or Australian authors, so don't expect extensive analysis of American PR, but there are some American issues included.